Carlisle's Niece
by InterruptedProgress
Summary: Carlisle Cullen is roaming the streets of London hunting vampires. The last person he expected to follow him was his niece... Currently On Hiatus.


**A/N: I have been toying with this idea for a while and I hope that you enjoy this story. R&R please!**

**Chapter One-**

My arm felt numb as my mother's death grip tightened. She was pulling me frantically into the house and away from the mob that had been forming towards the end of the street. I could see my Uncle Carlisle towards the front, his expression showed reluctance and wariness but his eyes held the determination of his father, although this time he would not be killing innocents. He had truly found a vampire coven in the sewers of London, just beneath our feet. I felt a small chill shivering down my spine at the thought that they were so close.

As I struggled fruitlessly against Renee and her grip on my arm, I could see Carlisle shouting something at the crowd before loud angry cheers could be heard in return. Then my mother closed the door and locked it thrice before turning to face me.

"Isabella! What could you have possibly been thinking? It is not safe tonight!" She sounded angry, but I could faintly hear the worry seeping through her voice.

"Don't call me Isabella." I mumbled, not quite wanting her to hear me, but wanting to correct her all the same. She ignored me as usual and continued on with her ranting. I waited patiently for her to finish, but after five minutes and still no end was in sight I decided to stop her.

"Mother I'm fine." I protested in vain as she began to push me up the stairs and in the direction of my room. A few of the maids momentarily paused in their work as they watched our display. Renee snapped at them to get back to work, effectively startling them and they quickly turned away from the scene we were making. When we arrived at the entrance to my room she swung open the door and pointed towards my bed. I ignored her and stormed towards my dressing room, successfully annoying her and triggering another lecture.

I tuned her out and began unpinning my hair, allowing it to fall down my back. I grabbed my brush and began to free it of tangles. Renee noticed my inattention and sighed. She took the brush from my hands and began to comb it herself. Her touch was gentle and she was silent, it reminded me of when I was a little girl and Renee would play with my hair; that was when my father had been alive. Things like this never happened anymore and all because my mother had to remarry.

Phillip Dwyer.

A prominent and successful lawyer who had swept my recently widowed mother off her feet; their courtship had been the talk of the ton, seeing as how my mother was a few years his elder. They paid no mind to the rumors and after only three months acquaintance; they were married, much to my dismay. Phillip and I did not get on well. He thought of me as an unwanted reminder of Renee's past marriage and did not attempt to hide his disdain of me. He was a tyrant and he loathed the very sight of me. The feeling was mutual of course.

Renee had tried to have us bond, but after a few months of obstinacy, she gave up trying and unconsciously sided with her husband- over her own daughter. From then on our relationship has been estranged at best and I could no longer think of her as my friend or my mother because they were no longer there.

Renee, who had pulled up a chair beside mine and now held my hands in hers, brought me from my reverie. She must have mistaken my silence for worry because the next thing she spoke surprised me.

"Isabella, I know that you are worried about your uncle, but I need you to stay inside of this room." Her voice had become unexpectedly soft and she stared down at our hands. "I don't want you to be hurt." She whispered. My eyes softened and my body relaxed although her speech had unwittingly brought back my worry to the forefront of my thoughts. I nodded my head slowly and I saw for a brief moment my mother.

However the moment was ruined when Phillip called for her from down the hall. She rose quickly and exited my room. I sighed and shook my head. I exited my dressing room and began moving towards my window hoping to catch a glimpse of my Uncle. I frowned when I noticed that they weren't standing at the end of the street anymore and as I peered out into the darkness, I could faintly see the light of the mob that had moved farther into the deeper streets of London.

For a moment I considered listening to my mother and staying put in my room; but one more glance out the window put that thought out of my mind in an instant. I rushed towards my dressing room and looked through my closet until I found a small trunk tucked in the back. I lifted the lid and sifted through the blankets that hid the pair of pants and the shirt that I was looking for.

I changed quickly and pinned my curls back, covering them with a tan cap. I glanced quickly in the mirror and was pleased, if not slightly dismayed, to find that if you didn't look too closely, I could pass for a boy. Cautiously, I poked my head out the door and looked to both sides of the hall. It was empty.

Perfect.

I hurried into the hall and rushed down the staircase, making sure to be as quiet as possible. I made it to the front door, without any problems, and silently I thanked God that there were no servants about. I quietly slipped outside and the air of London hit me. The door clicked behind me and I ran off following the now fading lights deeper into London's streets.

I sprinted as quickly as my clumsiness would allow towards the men. I surprised myself by stumbling only once before I reached the mob. I managed to squeeze my way through, keeping my head lowered all the while, and ended up near the front of the crowd. I attempted to catch sight of Carlisle, only to fail miserably. I was surrounded on all sides by men, some of which were intoxicated, and my height was a clear disadvantage.

"Aren't you a little young to be out here lad?" I heard a gruff voice from beside me. I didn't dare look up at him for fear of exposure. Instead I shook my head carefully, making sure that my cap stayed in place. I could feel his stare boring into me but I refused to speak.

"Aw leave the boy alone! If he wants to help us take down a few vampires I say let him!" came another voice, this time from behind. I quietly thanked the stranger that saved me from the man's stare. The man beside me snorted and mumbled something about a death wish, but said no more.

I don't know how long that we were walking, but suddenly the man in front of me stopped, causing me to walk right into him and fall to the ground. I picked myself up and looked around to see that everyone had stopped and that the yells of a few moments before were replaced with an eerie silence.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I pushed past the man in front of me, he put up no fuss but just stood there. I was now ahead of everyone in the group except for a tall blonde haired man who I recognized immediately as my uncle. He was standing a few feet ahead of us with his hand held out signaling for us to stay. His eyes were focused and I turned to follow his gaze before letting out a soft gasp.

About seven feet away, a tall figure was emerging from the sewer hole. He had chalky white skin that almost glowed in the moonlight, and he seemed graceful, if not weak. He stood up slowly from his hiding place and looked to be in pain, why this was I did not know. A slight breeze blew from behind us and it was in that moment that several things happened.

The figure, of which I was now sure was a vampire, crouched down as I would expect an animal to do, and leapt at my Uncle, knocking them both to the ground. I watched in horror as the vampire bit into his neck, and began to drink his blood. In that moment I could not think clearly and my thoughts were focused on saving Carlisle. I ran towards the creature and attempted to pull him off, however the vampire snarled and turned on me. I felt a sharp pain in my forearm, and the uncomfortable feeling of my blood being sucked out of my system. I could hear a shriek come from somewhere beside me, and than the roar of a crowd.

The vampire suddenly let go and dropped me beside another figure, and running off, the sound of the mob following him. I had only a moment to breathe a sigh of relief before I felt as if my arm was on fire and I began screaming. The fire began creeping up my arm and I shrieked out for my uncle to help me, when a ragged voice broke through my agony.

"I-Isabella? No!" Carlisle panted from beside me. I winced as I moved my head to look over to him. He was cringing in pain not a foot beside me and even through the pain I could see his anger.

"I-I'm s-sorry." I whispered hoarsely, before crying out as another wave of pain swept over me.

"We have t-to mo-ve Isabella, or t-they will kill us-s next."

To describe the pain that occurred as my uncle and I stood up weakly from our positions, shaking from the fire, and moving towards that alley, would be futile, for nothing could tell how much it hurt us. We moved slowly, leaning on each other for support. I don't recall how long it took us to reach the safety of the alley, nor do I recall how Carlisle managed to lift me into that crate before covering himself in garbage as well, all I could recall before I passed out was the pain, and my Uncle's order.

"You must k-keep quiet-t Isabella. W-we cannot be dis-covere-d"

And by some miracle, I was silent.


End file.
